Empty Hearts
by bubbles799
Summary: New York had always been the dream... But it also came with a whole lot of pain.


**Title:** Empty Hearts  
><strong>Author:<strong> bubbles799  
><strong>Show:<strong> _Packed to the Rafters_  
><strong>Characters:<strong> Rachel, with thoughts of Jake, with slight reference to her family.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> New York had always been the dream... But it also came with a whole lot of pain. **Disclaimer:** If I owned PTTR, it wouldn't be on hiatus right now.

_**/**_

_**I know, my lack of fiction lately is sad. Terrible. I know it all, believe me. And this, I have written just now as I got home, absolutely freezing. But on top of the world after watching my beloved West Coast Eagles flog Melbourne! **_

_**/**_

Sliding the key into the lock, her fingers turned until she heard the familiar click to indicate the door had been unlocked. Curling her fingers around the handle, she pushed the door open, the dark apartment greeting her as she stepped inside. The city night lights of the distant buildings could be seen through the glass windows on the opposite side of the room, the blinds drawn open. Placing her keys and bag down on the small kitchen table, Rachel Rafter surveyed the apartment she was trying to call home.

Since landing in New York three months ago, Rachel had thrown herself into her job at the New York branch of advertising agency EMB. The pressures of the global company played heavily on herself and her colleagues. The days were long, with shoots often extending well into the light. It wasn't uncommon for Rachel to be stepping into the dark apartment well after midnight. But if she was honest, she didn't mind. Being at work kept her mind away from the empty apartment and the missing family she had to face each night.

Seating herself down on the chocolate covered plush lounge, Rachel sighed as she took in her surroundings. She had found herself a very respectable, slightly luxurious feeling apartment. Most people wouldn't complain; the modern place had everything you could want, with the most stunning views over New York City.

It was the dream Rachel had always had, living up the American dream. As her mother had told her before she left Sydney and Australia, Rachel had destroyed her dolls house in an attempt to renovate it into a New York penthouse. It was all a part of her career choices.

However, when it actually came down to packing up her life and leaving Sydney, the city she'd grown up in. Not only was she leaving behind her childhood home and the comforts contained within it, she was leaving behind the most important people in her life. Her siblings, especially little Ruby who was making milestones everyday. Her parents, who were the core of the family. And her extended family, related or not.

And then there was Jake. She'd spoken to him a handful of times since she'd been in New York. They had ended on uncertain terms when Rachel had accepted the job offer. Jake had told her that he understood, that she had never been the 'suburban dream' type. After she arrived in New York, Rachel had found the first few days hardest, knowing exactly what she had left behind. And it was almost out of habit that Rachel called Jake one time. Pushed on a deadline for a shoot that appeared to be going nowhere, Rachel had dialled his number out of desperation. It wasn't until later that she even really registered that she wasn't in a position to call him to calm her down; they weren't officially dating anymore.

With the painfully familiar dull ache in her chest, and her heart, Rachel rolled over with a sigh, a cream velvety pillow under her arm. She settled in for another empty night, adding to the increasing tally of nights just like this one already behind her.

_**/**_

_**But I'm going be honest, 'Little Miracle' has me stumped; I'm halfway through a chapter that won't write itself. And pushing isn't helping. But the update will be up as soon as, promise. With the travel from LA, New Zealand, Sydney and Perth at the moment, I think I'm spending more times in airports that I am at home. **_

_**I have the V8 Supercar championship in Perth this weekend, on home turf, yay! But I miss most of Sunday's races because I have to be in Melbourne. Big weekend every where in Australia. Logies night on Sunday! Fingers crossed for PTTR. **_

_**This was incredibly short, but it got the point across. And I'm hoping it coaxes me back into writing. **_


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